Government, Incompetence, Un, Oops, Healthcare

The World Health Organization and a number of national governments have changed their Covid-19 policies and treatments on the basis of flawed data from a little-known US healthcare analytics company, also calling into question the integrity of key studies published in some of the world’s most prestigious medical journals.

  A Guardian investigation can reveal the US-based company Surgisphere, whose handful of employees appear to include a science fiction writer and an adult-content model, has provided data for multiple studies on Covid-19 co-authored by its chief executive, but has so far failed to adequately explain its data or methodology.

  Data it claims to have legitimately obtained from more than a thousand hospitals worldwide formed the basis of scientific articles that have led to changes in Covid-19 treatment policies in Latin American countries. It was also behind a decision by the WHO and research institutes around the world to halt trials of the controversial drug hydroxychloroquine.

Liberal, Incompetence, Un, Oops, Greed, Waste, Healthcare

The World Health Organization routinely spends about $200 million a year on travel — far more than what it doles out to fight some of the biggest problems in public health including AIDS, tuberculosis or malaria, according to internal documents obtained by The Associated Press...

  Despite introducing new rules to try to curb its expansive travel budget, senior officials have complained internally that U.N. staffers are breaking the rules by booking perks like business class airplane tickets and rooms in five-star hotels.

Liberal, Government, Funny, Un, Healthcare, Regulation

The United Nations warned the Trump administration earlier this year that repealing ObamaCare without providing an adequate replacement would be a violation of multiple international laws, according to a new report. Though the Trump administration is likely to ignore the U.N. warning, The Washington Post reported the Office of the U.N. High Commission on Human Rights in Geneva sent an "urgent appeal" on Feb 2.

Incompetence, Un, Oops, Communism

Colombia's government on Wednesday asked a United Nations mission tasked with supervising the demobilization of Marxist FARC rebels to safeguard its neutrality, after the publication of a video showing UN staff dancing with rebels at a New Year celebration...

  In a public letter, Maria Emma Mejia, Colombia's ambassador to the UN, said the conduct shown in the video of the holiday celebration, published by local and international media this week, was a source of "great worry and surprise."

Environmentalist, Liberal, Incompetence, Scandal, Fraud, Un, Oops

The United Nations body that oversees greenhouse gas reductions is reeling from another cap-and-trade scandal that may have put 600 million tons of carbon emissions into the atmosphere -- roughly speaking, the annual CO2 output of Canada or Britain -- while the emissions were ostensibly suppressed, according to an independent study.

  In the process, the fraudsters, largely in Russia and Ukraine, were likely able to transfer credits for more than 400 million tons of their apparently bogus greenhouse savings by April 2015 into Europe’s commercial carbon trading system -- the largest in the world --thereby undermining that continent’s ambitious carbon reduction achievements.

Liberal, Incompetence, Financial, Un, Oops

For more than three years, a sophisticated computerized management system intended to be a cornerstone of United Nations reform has been one of Secretary General Ban Ki-moon’s most embarrassing train wrecks, described as a “failure of management” on Ban’s part.

  Now, the world organization’s attempts to salvage the system -- known in-house as Umoja, a Swahili term for unity – have turned into an even bigger scandal. Even after an admission that it was three years behind its initial scheduled completion as of a year ago, Umoja has been a victim of U.N. mismanagement, misjudgment and almost surreal levels of ineffective implementation, according to internal U.N. documents... The total anticipated cost of Umoja had risen from $285.6 million in 2008 to $315.8 million in 2009, to some $348.2 million by 2015—with three years still to go after that.

Liberal, Government, Un, Bigbrother

In the middle of the night at a U.N. conference in Dubai, the presiding chairman of the International Telecommunication Union conference surveyed the assembled countries to see whether there was interest in having greater involvement in the U.N. governing the Internet.

  A majority of countries gave their approval. With a sufficient majority supporting the U.N. becoming more active in controlling the Internet, the chairman put forth a resolution. The chairman, though, insisted the survey "was not a vote." The resolution was supported by Cuba, Algeria, Nigeria, Saudi Arabia; the United States opposed it.

Crime, Character, Sex, Degeneracy, Un, Metaphor

A report issued by the United Nations-backed Global Commission on HIV and the Law; recommends that nations around the world get rid of “punitive” laws against prostitution – or what it calls “consensual sex work” -- and decriminalize the voluntary use of illegal injection drugs in order to combat the HIV epidemic...

  The commission recommends repealing all laws that prohibit “adult consensual sex work,” as well as clearly distinguishing in law and practice between sexual trafficking and prostitution.

Hypocrisy, Violence, Funny, Un

While the UN General Assembly was working to promote peace, behind the scenes officials were trying to contain a violent scuffle between UN security staff and Turkish diplomats.

Environmentalist, Government, Un, Corruption, Communism

CDM projects are concentrated in Asia due to the disastrous environmental effects of communism and the bureaucratic savvy of China, experts say. “Communism created the most intensely wasteful society the world has ever seen,” said Horner, explaining why former Soviet states in Central Asia such as Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan receive substantial support from the CDM. The Chinese government, an aggressive host for CDM projects, has manipulated the system, going so far as to re-open defunct factories in order to get Europeans to pay them to close them again.

Hypocrisy, Liberal, Election, Un, AntiAmerican

The United Nations Human Rights Council is investigating the issue of American election laws at its gathering on minority rights in Geneva, Switzerland. This, despite the fact that some members of the council have only in the past several years allowed women to vote, and one member, Saudi Arabia, still bars women from the voting booth completely.

Incompetence, Un

New York based Identity Finder says it appears the UN was not following the most basic web security. The hacker used a SQL injection attack (SQLIA) to fool the computer into revealing its secrets. "It's web security 101."

Crime, Un, Drugs

NEW YORK (CBS 2) – Sources tell CBS 2 authorities are investigating a delivery of cocaine to the United Nations. Sources say 30 pounds of cocaine were received by the UN in their mail room.

Character, Un, Feminism

Without fanfare, the United Nations this week elected Iran to its Commission on the Status of Women, handing a four-year seat on the influential human rights body to a theocratic state in which stoning is enshrined in law and lashings are required for women judged "immodest."

Hypocrisy, Crime, Character, Fraud, Un, Greed

The acting chief of the U.N. division that investigates wrongdoing in the world body is currently under investigation himself for allegedly retaliating against two whistle-blowers, according to a U.N. document.

  An AP investigation last year also found that the United Nations cut back sharply on investigations into corruption and fraud within its ranks, shelving cases involving the possible theft or misuse of millions of dollars, and that Dudley had a record of closing cases before investigations were complete and not actively pursuing initiatives begun by a special anti-corruption unit, the Procurement Task Force, which was terminated in 2009.

Environmentalist, Warming, Crime, Incompetence, Un

The reported killing of 23 Honduran farmers in a dispute with the owners of UN-accredited palm oil plantations has called into question the integrity of the EU's emission trading scheme (ETS), as carbon credits from the plantations remain on sale.

  In Brussels, Green MEP Bas Eickhout called the alleged human rights abuses "a disgrace", and told EurActiv he would be pushing the European Commission to bar carbon credits from the plantations from being traded under the ETS.

Incompetence, Funny, Un

Despite numerous breaches of arms embargoes and continued threats to expand its nuclear weapons program, North Korea has assumed the presidency of the United Nations Conference on Disarmament.

Hypocrisy, Incompetence, Un

The brutal crackdown by Syrian President Bashar Assad may finally be getting the attention of world leaders -- but apparently not enough to stop Syria from becoming the newest member of the U.N. Human Rights Council.

Environmentalist, Incompetence, Un

The United Nations Environment Program, the flagship for environmental consciousness and creation of a new era of “global environmental governance,” doesn’t know how its money is spent or even who it may be dealing with when it comes to hundreds of corporate, public and non-governmental partners that are “key” to fulfilling its mission, according to a confidential internal study obtained by Fox News.

Crime, Un

An internal investigation has concluded that a United Nations official steered millions of dollars in contracts to a company owned by the government of his native India in exchange for favors that included low-rent apartments, according to a United Nations report.

Incompetence, Un

The frustration is often most pointed among those with exposure to the private sector, like Jean-Pierre Lehmann, professor of international political economy at the I.M.D. business school in Lausanne, Switzerland.

  “Generally, the U.N. has been a terrible disappointment compared to the ideals with which it was established” after World War II, he said. “It serves as a gravy train for a very bloated employment system, and, yes, there is huge overlap between the agencies.”

Environmentalist, Incompetence, Funny, Science, Un, Oops

A senior U.N. environmental official says entire nations could be wiped off the face of the Earth by rising sea levels if the global warming trend is not reversed by the year 2000.

  Coastal flooding and crop failures would create an exodus of ″eco- refugees,′ ′ threatening political chaos, said Noel Brown, director of the New York office of the U.N. Environment Program, or UNEP.

  He said governments have a 10-year window of opportunity to solve the greenhouse effect before it goes beyond human control.

-AP June 29, 1989

Liberal, Government, Un, Metaphor

The newest delegates to the United Nations are a bunch of bloodsucking parasites. On Tuesday, staff at the U.N.'s New York headquarters got a message that should send chills down the spine of any New Yorker: The Department of Management wishes to inform staff that bedbugs have been detected in an isolated area (two cubicles on the northern end of the 34th floor) of the Secretariat building.